Organizing time

I cannot add time to my day, so I have to organize my time better. And just thinking about what I could do differently isn't working. I need a plan. I need to write down my ideas and at least put one of them into action. I think of my ideal day, and it seems monumental and impossible.

Things that I need to add into my day that are currently not there:

Time with God. I haven't read my bible (minus required reading for the kids' schoolwork) in a very long time. I'd like to have at least 1 hour a day that I can devote to quiet; to reading and studying the bible.

Reading 'for fun' books. I have so many books in my 'to be read' stack, and so many new books coming out all the time that I would love to read. I'd like to read at least 1 chapter in at least 1 book every day.

Exercise. I have about 50 lbs that I NEED to get rid of. I cannot wish it away. It's not going to come off by changing eating habits alone. But, those that know me know that I am the furthest thing from an outdoorsy person as you can get. I'd like to be down 20 lbs by my birthday.

Sports for the kids. They are itching to be in an organized sport. Blake wants football (I've tried to explain to him that this isn't southern CA and they don't play football year-round here). Olivia wants to do Cheerleading. Rebekah wants Binashtics (that's gymnastics for those that don't speak Bekah), and they all three want swim lessons.

Music lessons. For all of us. I desperately want to learn to play the piano. I want my kids to learn to play some instrument. Guitar, violin, flute, drums, uh scratch that last one, oboe, their own voice. I don't care, I just want them to learn an instrument and the world of music.

I want to do all these things, but I still want to be that wife that has the house clean, is cleaned up herself, and has dinner on the table when her husband gets home. I want for us to eat dinner as a family, read or watch something on tv that benefits us all, then bedtime routines at a decent bedtime hour (for all of us!). I've often said I should have been a wife in the 1950s :-) Except I don't think that even then I would have vacuumed in heels and pearls.

Having that means that all of the previously mentioned things I want can't be done at night. I have to figure out a way to fit all of it into an already seemingly busy school day. I say seemingly, because if I were better organized we probably wouldn't be so busy. It probably wouldn't take us so long to get things done if I was prepared and organized for each school day, for chores, for dinner...

I feel like most of my days are filled with playing the game of catch-up. I often feel like I'm one step behind, and that is more frustrating than anything.

I know that I'm hard on myself. I'm harder on myself than anyone else in the world, but I know there is something I can do to streamline my days, to make life more enjoyable for us all, and I'm stubborn enough to work at it until I'm happy with the results.

Already?

This fall (late summer?) we will begin our 3rd year homeschooling. I'm already looking at curriculum and things I want to do for next year. Yes, already. I cannot WAIT for my Sonlight Catalog to get here! (oh no! Do they have my new address?) I'm trying to plan trips to Florida and Tennessee around the times when I can also go to a homeschool convention while I'm there visiting. Is that over the top?

Although my kids really enjoy being homeschooled, they aren't nearly as excited about next school year as I am. Not because of the content of what we'll be learning (American History!!), but because they can barely see beyond the current schoolwork staring them in the face. They are still kids, after all.

I am jumping the gun just a little, though, I have to admit. Because of our move last year and all the travel we had to do, we are a bit behind where we need to be. For all you teachers and moms of school-aged kids out there, we haven't even hit our 100th day yet. We're so behind I don't think we're going to be able to take a Spring Break. Either that, or we can start doing Saturday School. Oooo, now there's an idea!

No, as much as it would bring me such joy to end school before July, I don't think I'm willing to give up my only 'sleep in' day.

Maybe I can convince the kids to do it for just 5 Saturdays between now and then and we can finish before the July 4th celebrations! I'm sure that if one of them agreed (Blake), the other one would protest (Olivia).

It's still not going to stop me from making my lists and browsing websites in February, though.

The Great Church Hunt, Part 5

I think the hunt is over!

At some point in this blog, I may have mentioned a tiny little local church that we found when we first got here that we didn't want to try for various reasons. One was that they were very small. Two, according to their website they didn't have the programs for kids on Wednesday nights we were looking for. It didn't look like the program for boys (Royal Rangers) was running at all, and the program for girls (Missionettes) didn't begin until age 10.

After trying several churches that were a *drive*, Jerry told me that he wanted to try this church. I didn't really want to, but I agreed. I mean, it's getting down to crunch time here. Jerry will be leaving on a deployment in the not too distant future and I need for us to be plugged in somewhere! The plus sides to a local church is that the friends I cultivate will be LOCAL.

Anyway, we tried the church. And I do believe that after 3 Sunday services and 1 Wednesday service we are going to call this church home. Turns out, their website hasn't been updated in about 2 years. They DO have Missionettes for the younger ones (Rainbows and Prims) and the Royal Rangers program for the boys just started back up after a long break. The Pastors on the website are not the pastors anymore, even! The new Pastor and his wife are our age, and have four kids that are about the same ages as ours. There are a few other military families, and I believe a few homeschooling families as well.

This is the first place I've really felt comfortable since we left our church in CA, and the first Sunday service here was the first time Luke didn't cry in the Nursery since leaving CA (and hasn't cried since!)

The kids are already starting to make friends, which makes me happy.

Today after church, one of the ladies on the Worship team came up to me and asked me if I sang and played an instrument. I told her that I sing, and that I sang on the Worship team in San Diego. She invited me to come to the next rehearsal and join them. Am I just putting off a vibe that says how very much I miss it?! LOL

I feel like I can exhale now.

Oh, and the moral of this story? Don't completely form your opinion on something based on the website alone (have I told you about the church with the great website that I asked Jerry to please never take me to again?).